Blog

by Logan Ames

We live in a society where personal accountability and responsibility seem to be scarce. This is happening more and more as people make excuses for their behaviors and others accept those excuses. Murderers and rapists say they have no choice but to act on their urges. Being addicted to certain substances is seen as a “disease”, and more and more people choose not to work because of certain “disabilities” that wouldn’t actually prevent them from working. Before some of you jump all over me, I fully understand that there are some who have legitimate disabilities and wouldn’t be able to work if they tried. But according to what I see almost daily in my job, that is a very small percentage of people compared to the number who get paid for doing nothing. My girlfriend and I recently met a woman at an outreach event for our church who came with her three children while her husband stayed home. She told us her husband thought about coming, but that he has a “social anxiety disorder” that caused him to stay home. However, she also told us that her husband had cheated on her at one point! Obviously, this man used his “disorder” as a crutch only when it benefited him, but didn’t let it stop him from meeting a new woman while he was married. And the worst part about it was that his wife was either deceived or purposefully chose to buy into the garbage he was saying.

While society, and even our current government leaders (on BOTH sides), seem to have it backwards in the sense that people are not held responsible for their actions, God does not see things that way and never will. The Apostle Paul says that assuming we won’t experience the good and bad consequences of our actions is like laughing at God. “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8). In other words, all actions have consequences. They might not always match up according to YOUR standards, but fortunately YOU are not in control. God alone is sovereign and his Word says you will reap whatever you have sown.

Paul was writing those words to a group of believers in Galatia who were still trying to teach the Gentiles (non-Jews) that they had to follow Jewish laws in order to know Jesus. The application there is that if you seek to “earn” righteousness through your own efforts in obeying the law, you will reap both the consequences for breaking just one of those laws and the constant exhaustion from trying to measure up to the standard you have set or allowed others to set for you. This concept of reaping what you sow had been declared to Israel many centuries before, yet they continued to sin and rebel against God as he continued to try to get their attention.

Take some time to read Isaiah 1 on your own. The whole chapter is essentially about God pleading with his people to look at the horrific consequences of their actions and to turn toward him as the only sensible response to those consequences. For example, he rhetorically asks, “Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted” (1:5). God is simply stating the obvious. The people have reaped what they sowed. Some may say that God wasn’t very merciful since he allowed them to suffer such horrific consequences. But I’d say that God’s mercy is clearly shown in the fact that he is still calling out to them and urging them to repent, despite their constant disobedience. God doesn’t owe it to anyone to give them another chance, yet he continues to do so.

As he so often does with us, God gives his people a way out. Look at Isaiah 1:18-20. First, God invites the people to “reason” with him. This means that what he offers them is not the crazy plan of a madman, but rather the only logical choice they can make based on their current situation. He explains that no matter what has been done in the past, their sins will be overcome and the red stain will be as white as snow or wool. But it still comes down to a choice. All they have to do is submit to him as their only Savior and be obedient and they will “eat the best of the land”. However, if they continue to resist this free gift of salvation and restoration and continue to rebel against God, they will be destroyed. God is patient and loving and wants them to turn to him. But after all, he still will NOT be mocked.

Perhaps one of the greatest areas of mockery that we have right now, especially amongst those who declare themselves to be followers of God, is with our finances. Through the Old Testament prophet Malachi, God told the people that they cannot expect him to bless them when they aren’t even willing to trust him with the 10% of their property that he requires. “‘Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you,’ says the Lord Almighty” (Malachi 3:7). He goes on to tell them they are “robbing” him and are under a curse as an entire nation because they have not been tithing as he commanded, then urges them to test him and see that if they sow trusting in him for all of their needs, they will reap so much blessing that they won’t be able to contain it (verses 8-10). If you want financial peace, you can’t hold onto everything and try to manage it yourself. There are too many variables in the world that you can’t control. By demonstrating that you trust God with everything he gives you and are willing to follow his commands, you put your financial burdens in the hands of the One who IS sovereign over those variables and the One who has not, does not, and will not fail to bring you peace. The choice is yours.

Have you been mocking God in your life? Have you been continuing to make the same disobedient and rebellious choices while still getting angry with God that your circumstances are not changing? Remember that God does not stand for mockery. You will reap what you have sown. While bad consequences from bad choices won’t feel good, understand that God allows you to experience them because he loves you and wants to use them to turn you back toward him. Don’t allow yourself to keep getting beaten when God is offering you a way out through Jesus Christ. Trust him, then watch the amazing things he does in your life.